Disclaimer: I do not own GF

~~0~~0~~0~~

When Dipper entered their motel room, he went straight to the nearest bed and collapsed into it, a low groan escaping him.

What a day.

Though only a handful of hours had passed since leaving Texas and arriving in the District of Columbia, Dipper swore that days had passed in those mere hours. From the nail-biting wait of their fake IDs being read, to Bill wiggling too much when scanned for dangers, to Tad whisper-yelling at Bill to sit down in the plane, then finally the take-off, Bill twisting around in his seat, kicking the seat in front of him like a child, and bothering every single person around him, it was almost too much.

Dipper had felt blessed that he wasn't the one sitting next to Bill, at the very least. Turning his head to peer into the eye-burning whiteness of the clouds was better than giving the god any attention at all.

So as hard as it was at times, all Dipper had done was tune Bill out and listen to his own muddled thoughts and worries. Eventually, he had just clamped down on those broiling emotions to fall asleep. Which, in retrospect, was the best idea.

That being said, sleep on a plane was far from fulfilling, and even now Dipper was more tired than before somehow.

Though motel beds were far from pleasant, compared to a stiff plane seat, it was as if he were laying on clouds.

Dipper tuned in and out of Bill and Tad's conversation as the two proceeded to actually get ready for bed. The television began crackling out sound as Bill turned it on. He sat at the edge of the bed, right besides Dipper's chest.

"Pine Tree, you're going to need to scoot over so I can fit." Bill pushed down on the brim of his hat, a soft and almost playful lilt in his voice.

Dipper groaned and rolled over onto his side. He squirmed upward to get his head and face smushed into a pillow.

Bill tutted as Dipper left his hat behind and proceeded to pick it up and place it on the end table between the two beds. "You're not even under the covers."

"Oh, bite me," Dipper slurred, his eyes already closed.

Dipper didn't see Bill's shrug, nor his devious little grin as he proceeded to lean down and nip the shell of Dipper's ear.

Dipper squawked, his eyes flying open, and he nearly fell off the bed. He caught himself by slamming his hand against the end table.

Dipper twisted around, rubbing his ear with his hand. "Bill! What the heck! Did you just bite me?!"

Bill laughed and proceeded to worm his way under the covers, leaning back against the headboard with his arms folded behind his head. "You invited me to," he said smugly as he snapped his fingers. His hat floated from his head and dropped on top of Dipper's. "Besides, that was more of a nip than an actual bite."

Dipper grumbled under his breath. His body ached as he forced it up and under the covers. "You still freaking. Put your teeth on my ear!"

Bill didn't even bother with a proper response; he merely laughed.

Besides them, Tad rolled over onto his side, his back facing them. "You two need to stop chattering and go to bed," he grumbled. "We have a lot to get done tomorrow. We need rest." Before Dipper or Bill could respond, Tad reached back to turn out the lamp in the room, plunging it into near darkness. The ghostly lights from the television painted odd swaths of muted colors across the walls.

"Yeah, Pine Tree," Bill said, chuckling to himself. "Stop chattering."

Dipper reached around with his hand and hit Bill in the chest, making him "oomph." Bill laughed more.

Tad groaned again and stuffed his head under his pillow.

Dipper shook his head and peered back at Bill. The god was laying on his side propping his hand up in his palm, staring down at him with a large grin.

"Do you ever get exhausted with yourself?" Dipper couldn't help but ask.

Bill snorted. "Of course not. I don't get tired. Plus, I'm amazing! I could never get sick of me!"

Dipper rolled his eyes. He turned back around and curled up in a tight ball. "Well, I am quite tired and Tad is right. I'm going to sleep." Dipper closed his eyes again. Despite Bill being behind him in bed, radiating warmth, Dipper forced himself to stay as far away from Bill as possible. Despite the lack of the familiar sensation of a body pressed against his own, Dipper found himself already begin to drift off.

When Bill's chest and navel pressed against Dipper, an arm sliding around him, Dipper tensed, but couldn't find it in himself to pull away. Unable to fight, Dipper leaned back into the heat, his heart fluttering in his chest. Despite the sound of blood rushing through his ears, he found his eyelids becoming heavier and heavier.

Dipper swore he felt Bill's lips press against the back of his neck. Dipper also swore he heard Bill tell him "good night."

But Dipper had already fallen asleep.

~~0~~0~~0~~

The sky burned bright with a greedy gold. Twisted pines stretched up for a taste of wealth as fallen needles seemed to float in the air, as if debating on whether they really wanted to fall to the ground.

Near a bubbling pond, where a melodic waterfall conducted an odd music of its own, Dipper found himself scuffing the mud with the edge of his shoe, standing next to an alabaster tree.

The clump of violent violet flowers had closed up, leaving nothing but gray stems and bulbs. However, the luminous violet fungi creeping its way through the dying tree's wounds did not fade. Dipper reached out with a single finger, hesitant to touch one of the strange mushrooms.

It held the only color in his mind besides himself and the sky. It was unnatural- that he knew for sure. Not part of his mind. It couldn't be. Yet, here it was.

Dipper twisted his lips to the side. Before he could give into his curiosity and prod the top of the mushroom, a familiar voice rang out in the woods behind him.

"Oh, Pine Tree!"

Dipper startled, dropping his hand and whipping around in time to see Bill stride from the treeline, a swagger in each step, his face split in two with the grin he had across his face.

Dipper crossed his arms tight. He eyed Bill warily as the god stopped a little less than a foot away from him.

Whether Dipper wished he were closer or farther away, even he couldn't tell.

"What are we doing here? And- and what are these purple mushrooms?" Dipper asked, pointing back at the fungi.

Bill peered around Dipper, knitting his brows together and humming under his breath. "Huh. Interesting 'shrooms you got in your mind, Pine Tree!"

"Did you just ignore my question?" Dipper dropped his arm. "Seriously?"

Bill snorted. "It's your mind. Maybe you just have a taste for mushrooms!"

Dipper eyed Bill. "Right. Well. You didn't answer my other question."

Bill rolled his eyes and kicked himself up into the air. He floated on his back, crossing his legs. He folded his arms behind his back. "We're here because you wanna be here! And I don't have any other mind to hop in. Besides-" Bill spun himself around so he floated on his stomach. He rested his head in his arms, peering down at Dipper through a thick forest of lashes, "-you want me to be here."

Dipper flinched back, his mocha eyes hardening. "What? No! No I don't-"

Bill cackled. "You don't have to say anything, Pine Tree! I can tell." Bill tapped his temple.

Dipper crossed his arms again, his lips twisting into a frowning pout.

"You have a question on your mind. What is it?"

"What? You don't already know?"

"Well, of course I know! Thought it'd make ya feel better if ya got to ask me." Bill's wolfish grin sent chills rocketing through Dipper. He rubbed his biceps. His skin prickled under his fingertips.

Dipper stared at Bill warily. "I don't understand how you can just. Act like nothing happened."

Bill cocked his head to the side. "Like nothing happened?"

Dipper shook his head. "Never mind. I don't-" Dipper rubbed his forehead with the heel of his palm, stewing in his own thoughts and words. "I realized. On the plane. The question I asked- what did I ask?"

Bill tensed, narrowing his eyes. "You don't remember?"

Dipper the inside of his cheek. He hunched his shoulders up. "No. Not really. I remember the- the-" Dipper licked his lips, "I remember the- the kiss." A gentle dusting of a scarlet blush peppered Dipper's cheeks.

A similar golden one illuminated under Bill's freckles. "Well, that's too bad Pine Tree."

Dipper's head snapped up. "What? You're not going to tell me what I even asked?!"

Bill shook his head, his shit-eating grin returning. "Nope!" He popped the P. "Not my fault ya can't remember your own question!"

Dipper scowled. "That's not fair!"

"You're right, it's not fair! Nothing ever is! You should know that by now, at the very least, Pine Tree!"

Dipper's scowl deepened. "You're useless." He shook his head. "I suppose you can't repeat the answer now, can you?"

Bill paused, his eyes narrowing as he mulled over a sudden rush of thoughts. "Actually-" he began slowly, testing and tasting every word on his tongue, "-I didn't answer your question."

Dipper tensed, dropping his arms. "You- you didn't?"

Bill shook his head. "Not at all!"

"And I don't suppose you could answer it now then, can you?"

Bill hummed, his blush spreading further across his cheeks. "I mean. I could try, but you don't even know what the question is, so what's the point of an answer?"

"But you said you would-!"

Bill waved Dipper off. "I said I could answer any question you had truthfully, yeah. But you didn't say I had to answer your question as soon as it was asked! My deal, my rules. You'll get your answer when I am ready to give it."

Dipper ground his teeth together. "Knowing you, that'll be during the last seconds of my life or something."

Bill's blush faded as his face paled, but he burst out laughing. "Now you're getting it, Pine Tree!" He snapped his fingers, pointing a single finger-gun at Dipper.

Dipper groaned and rolled his eyes. Whipping around on his heel, Dipper dived out of the little waterfall clearing he was in and tromped into the thinning forest beyond.

"Hey! Pine Tree! Where you goin'?" Bill flipped back onto his feet and caught up to Dipper easily in a handful of strides. He dropped a heavy hand on Dipper's shoulder, but Dipper shook it away and kept walking at his breakneck pace.

"Can you just leave me alone for five minutes, or something?" Dipper snapped, not looking up at Bill.

Bill snorted, rolling his eyes. He tugged down on the brim of Dipper's hat. "Quit being a moody teenager. Besides, we've barely spent any actual, completely sober, time together in a while now!"

"Yeah, and it was paradise."

"Now that's just cruel, kid. That's just cruel."

"Good."

Bill harrumphed and crossed his arms, twisting his lips into a leering pout. "If you're gonna go ahead and spend some time alone and without me, then we should at least start doing something productive." Bill flicked his wrist, summoning his cane, and held it out in front of Dipper, stopping him in his tracks. Dipper jerked his arms up, his eyes widening as he glanced up at Bill.

"Productive? Wait, looking for- um- whatshername?"

"Least ya remembered she was a she! Silver Lining. That's who's here. A superb court judge, whatever that is."

Dipper couldn't stop the edges of his lips from quirking into a minuscule smile. "Supreme. Not superb."

"Either way! She isn't any of those things! She's a traitor and thinks she's better than everyone else around her. Even me! Her big brother!"

"Huh. Wonder where she got that from."

"I know, right? No one is better than me!" Bill tutted, shaking his head. "But I digress. She needs to die, the sooner the better."

Dipper frowned. "Wait, but didn't you just say she's your sister? I mean, that's your family, Bill."

"Doesn't matter what she is. We may share the same ichor, but she is no sister of mine. As I've said before, Pine Tree, How I am related to my siblings is vastly different than what a mortal's sibling is."

"How so? You keep saying that, but how are you different?"

"Well for one, I didn't have a mother. Or a father. Or any of that. None of my siblings did. We're pure gods, gods not born of another god."

"Wait, so you were created?"

Bill tapped his chin. "Well, yes and no. I created myself."

"How could you create yourself if you didn't exist before yourself?"

Bill cackled. "Easily! Time's an illusion, and nothing matters! Magic!"

Dipper eyed Bill warily. "Right. Okay. Not gonna go there. But if that's so, how are you all siblings? You said you shared blood, so it's more than just being created at the same time, right?"

"Well, yes." Bill paused, searching Dipper's face. "You are aware I am the oldest god, yes? The first."

Dipper's eyes widened, but his jaw stay tightened, and he didn't blink. "I- I believe that was mentioned to me before."

Bill nodded. "I split myself long ago to create my siblings. In retrospect, a terrible idea. But I was an idiot! Nothing left for me to do about 'em. They're all ungrateful. Except Tad. Tad's the only one who's kinda okay."

Dipper stared at Bill. "Considering they're all related to you, them being ungrateful isn't that big of a shock."

Bill guffawed. "You're sounding more like me every day, kid! You're like a mini me!"

Dipper gasped, unsure whether to truly be offended or not, and shoved Bill in the side. Bill allowed himself to be careened into the air.

Dipper shook his head, frowning. "Anyways, that's how they were all created? Really?"

Bill floated back to Dipper. "Yup!" he chirped. "But that hardly matters now! It's not important."

"I know, I know. Killing them is. So, what'd Silver Lining even do?"

Thump. Bill landed back on the ground. He leaned heavily against a tree infested with fungi, careful not to directly touch any of the mushrooms.

"Oh, what didn't she do! She's pathetic, that's what! As soon as we were put on the defensive, as soon as we realized that the war was hopeless for us and that it- it was all over," Bill ground his teeth together, eyes glinting dangerously, "she left us in the night! She was always slippery as a snake. I don't know how she did it, but she somehow convinced Penny Safe to, I don't know. "Forgive" her? Accept her? Who knows what she said, and who cares. Last I saw of her, she stood by Penny Safe's side." Bill eyes darkened and he tightened his hands into fists. "She was the one to decide mine and Tad's fate, Dipper."

Dipper shivered at the use of his name dripping off Bill's tongue.

"Wait, wait." Dipper held his hands up in the air, staring up at Bill with huge eyes. "She was the one who locked you in the forest?"

"Her personally? No. But she was the one who made the final decision on me being locked away there. She was also the one to spare Tad. Always had a soft spot for him. Don't know why." Bill shrugged. A sharp, bitter grin cracked his face in two. "Maybe she thought she could save him from me. Or something. Instead of locking him away too, the bitch just made it impossible for him to visit me without slowly being broken down. Thusly, separating us."

Dipper frowned, and found himself stepping closer to Bill. He hesitated, then gently held Bill's wrist.

A soft sound escaped Bill and he stared down at where Dipper was touching him, as if not able to believe what he was seeing.

Bill gulped, but continued. "It- it didn't work. Tad- Tad could still visit."

"I know. I was there, remember?" Dipper chuckled and slid his hand down into Bill's, weaving their fingers together so carefully, so lightly, it would be almost too easy to pull away, like plucking a petal from a flower.

Bill's hold on Dipper's hand didn't tighten. His taut muscles fell lax and his sharp grimace smoothed. "Oh, I remember, Pine Tree. I remember…."

Dipper looked away from Bill. He couldn't quite blink and push the memories back. As he stared into his own mind's forest, he swore he caught a hint of fabric in the distance; an all too familiar fabric of a coat long destroyed. If Dipper focused, he could almost hear his own voice weave through the trees, along with Bill's, and even Tad's.

Dipper shuddered. How simple those times had been.

"So- so how are you going to find her?" Dipper shook his head, dislodging his wandering thoughts.

Bill shuffled closer to Dipper. They were now toe-to-toe. "Well, my piney friend, I thought you could take another stroll through the Mindscape to find her again. You found Never Asking pretty fast!"

"That took weeks!"

"And most of those weeks were dedicated to training. Now you can put full focus unto finding her! She shouldn't be too hard either. She has a… presence. Once you see her door, you'll know it."

"You mean, besides it just being gold?"

Bill snapped. "Exactly. You catch on fast. That's what I like 'bout you!"

Dipper bit the inside of his cheek, his face heating up. "I don't know… it was tiring. And- and I don't-"

Bill's hand fell on Dipper's shoulder, squeezing gently. "Pine Tree. You can do this. I've seen you do it before. And you're a complete natural when it comes to magic. Sure, your Latin is shaky, and you follow by the book a little too much, not quite there when it comes to thinking… well, spontaneously! But! You're getting there. I don't think there has ever been a human as young as you walking the Mindscape."

Dipper's face flushed completely, and his eyes widened to the size of the full moon as he peered up at Bill. "R- Really?" The hope in his voice stretched Bill's grin out further.

"Of course! I don't lie!"

"That right there was a lie!" Dipper's lips quirked into a small smile.

Bill guffawed. "You know how to get to the Mindscape, Pine Tree. I don't have to show you again, do I?"

"No, of course not!"

Bill's hand trailed up from Dipper's shoulder to caress his jaw. He pinched Dipper's chin between two shockingly gentle fingers.

Another shiver wracked Dipper as Bill's eyes bored into his own.

"Good," Bill purred.

Dipper held his stance. He was still holding Bill's hand. Dropping that hand back to his side, already missing the weight and warmth of Bill's hand within his own, Dipper stepped back from Bill's grip.

Bill's hand fell back down to his side too.

"I'll be back soon," Dipper said, stepping backward. A familiar doorknob bit into his back suddenly.

The door had come to him.

Bill waved his fingers, kicking himself up into the air once again. He laid on his stomach, settling his head in his crossed arms.

"I count on it, Pine Tree."

~~0~~0~~0~~

The stark alabaster white burned his eyes from his skull, yet cradled him as a mother would. The sound of complete and utter silence resounded in his ears.

The doors that rose from the not-ground around Dipper were different this time. None of them shone godly gold, but many were made of a foggy glass he couldn't peer through, apartment doors with assorted numbers and grime on them, and even more elevator doors.

Some doors weren't even doors; just elegant archways with a wavering, opaque curtain.

Taking several more steps away from his own door, Dipper went ahead and laid down on the not-ground of the mindscape, staring up into absolute singularity of nothingness above.

Dipper's heart clenched, and he breathed in and out of his mouth slowly, steadying his already wandering thoughts.

He just had to do as he had done the last time; negate the idea of distance.

Dipper screwed his eyes tight and focused beyond the sudden splashes of color in his own personal darkness.

Nothing was real. Not even distance. Distance wasn't real. So was nothing. Nothing was real.

Dipper repeated the mantra in his head.

Nothing is real. Nothing is real. Distance isn't real. Nothing is real. Nothing at all.

Dipper's back tensed, anticipating falling through the not-ground, falling forever in an endless, nothing universe….

Dipper's mantra died in the back of his mind, and he tightened his hands into fists, slamming them on the not-ground beside his thighs.

"Dang," he muttered to no one. His voice didn't travel nor carry.

Dipper opened his eyes back up and rubbed at them harshly with his knuckles. Memories from what happened last time kept pricking the surface of his mind, interrupting his mantra. Taking in deep breaths to calm himself back down, Dipper forced himself to relax. The not-ground curved to his body perfectly, leaving him lying comfortably.

"Let's try again," Dipper said again. Though he couldn't hear a single word he said, just feeling his vocal chords vibrate with speech relaxed him.

So, instead of sticking to his own thoughts, Dipper stated, "nothing is real."

He closed his eyes again.

"Nothing is real. Distance doesn't exist. Distance isn't real. Nothing is real. Nothing at all. Nothing is real. Nothing is real. Distance isn't real, it does not exist. Distance isn't real. Nothing is real. Nothing is-"

Dipper gasped as the not-ground gave way beneath him, leaving him flailing and falling. Dipper kicked his legs out, a soundless scream escaping him.

Pain didn't come, but his mantra of "nothing is real" changed to purely "distance isn't real" and sooner than before, the not-ground met Dipper's back as he landed exactly where he had been before. He had simply fallen into place without moving an inch. Well, besides his arms and legs, at least.

When Dipper opened his eyes, colors not truly there exploded into fireworks against the white. He squinted, rubbing his eyes hard as he sat up. Dropping his hands back down into his lap, he looked up and peered around, a triumphant grin overtaking his face.

Doors spiraled around him once more.

Dipper clambered to his feet, popping his back. Burying his hands in his pockets, he strode to the first door- his door- and gently touched the front of it. The texture of the chipped painting on the wood was comforting. Letting his fingers tap against the wood for a couple seconds, closing his eyes briefly and imagining the tap tap tapping, Dipper pulled away and began his trek along the pathway of doors.

He stumbled upon a gold door quickly. Tad's door. Dipper couldn't see the stitched heart boxed in by a square, but he knew it was there. He kept walking.

Dipper let his fingers run over the hinges of the doors, not unlike how he used to lean over the side of Stan's small boat when they went fishing, letting his fingers run across the top of the water. He only ever stopped when Stan's stories of sea monsters ripping his fingers off became too much to bear.

Dipper gritted his jaw, and shoved those loose memories back. The surface thoughts on the doors didn't ruffle Dipper at all; most were too fragmented to focus on, as if lost within dreams within a dream. Keeping a sharp eye out for a golden door, Dipper paused besides several deep yellow doors before moving on. Unlike last time, he didn't break into a run.

Distance didn't exist, and neither did time. All that existed was him, the doors, and the not-ground beneath his feet.

Dipper's fingers paused on one door. It was red.

All that existed was him, the doors, and the not-ground.

All that existed was him, the not-ground, and his door.

When Dipper blinked, he had fallen again. Rolling onto his knees, he used the doorknob to his own door to help him back up to his feet.

Dipper rolled his shoulders, an odd pressure building up in his head, like a migraine. It came and went, like a tide. But as Dipper peered around, nothing but his own door within his universe, he came to realize that this was a high-tide, and he nearly fell back down to the not-ground in agony.

Dipper felt his mind was splitting apart by the seams. Invisible claws digging into his skull, slicing his brain into ribbons.

There were no other doors but his own. There was no other person but him. Everyone else was gone. He was the only one left.

A sob broke Dipper's lips. He could barely hold onto his thoughts as they were. They were slipping through the cracks of his mind. His soul was draining out of his other soles. It was becoming a puddle beneath him, like a mold stain on the ceiling.

That's where he was, wasn't he? On the ceiling?

Dipper cried out as his hair suddenly fell up. He gripped the doorknob of his own door harder, and his entire body spun. Ache crackled through his body as his hair fell back into his face. Somehow, his hat never left the top of his head. That was impossible.

Dipper didn't open his door. He knew he didn't. He was hanging off the doorknob for dear life, threatening to slip. Even so, his door opened, inwards instead of outwards, and as soon as he crossed into his own mind, strong arms wrapped around him, and pulled him close.

His door hung ajar. Bill couldn't close it. He couldn't reach into the Mindscape. Even if he could, his arms were too busy supporting Dipper, clutching him as if he were about to fall apart.

Dipper thought he had already fallen. Perhaps not apart, though.

Dipper didn't realize Bill had been shaking him till Bill's warm hands suddenly cupped his face, his mismatched eyes boring into his.

"Pine Tree! Come on, Pine Tree! Wake up! You're letting in a draft, can't you see?"

Dipper blinked, and peered past Bill. The few pine needles that had been clinging to the trees floated down like ashes. The pine needles that had already began their slow descent peppered the ground like snow. It had become winter.

"Oh, sorry." Bill held Dipper up as he stretched out to close his door behind him. This door was not upside down.

Bill sighed in relief and pulled Dipper back into his lap. He kept stroking Dipper's cheeks, as if trying to warm them. "Pine Tree. What the hell was that?"

Dipper blinked slowly, resting his forehead against Bill. In the presence of the god, that high-tide migraine was flowing back out. His remaining thoughts were like the seashells left in the water's wake.

"Why are you crying?" Bill asked. His nasally voice was as sharp as ever, but his thumbs were surprisingly gentle as he wiped beneath Dipper's eyes.

"I'm crying? Oh. I- I didn't find the door. Silver Lining's door. I- I- I thought I could narrow it. But I narrowed it too much. And then there was only my door." The words came so fast, Dipper could hardly comprehend he was speaking at all. "There was only one door- my door- but if that's true, then there is only me. There is only me, and no one else exists. And- and if no one else-" a sob broke Dipper, and he gripped Bill's dress shirt tightly, pulling the god down so they were nose-to-nose, "-I- I killed everyone. I destroyed the world."

Bill cradled Dipper close, rubbing his cheeks more, tucking his head under his chin. "You didn't destroy anything, Dipper. That's the power of the Mindscape. It warps everything. Everything is real. But, thoughts don't make reality. You didn't harm anyone, and you didn't destroy anyone either." Bill kept holding Dipper, his strokes moving from his cheeks to his back. He held off on his questions as long as he could, but eventually, as Dipper's sniffles trickled away, he had to ask.

"You manipulated the Mindscape so only you could see your own door?"

Dipper nodded weakly against Bill's chest. "You said anything is possible and nothing is real. If that's true, then the doors, they aren't- and they can be-"

Bill hushed Dipper. "Don't worry about it, Pine Tree. I've already told you that your puny human brain can't possibly understand everything I've told you and attempted to explain to you. And look at you now! A sniveling mess because you thought you could be a god!"

Dipper smacked Bill in the chest, but there was no heart behind the blow. "Oh, shut up and just hold me."

Bill snickered. "I thought I was already holding you." Bill's grip on Dipper became tighter.

Dipper didn't even bother with an answer, pressing his face back into Bill's chest. He focused on Bill's breathing, warmth, and fiery scent to bring him back to reality.

He was real. Bill was real. Everything was real.

~~0~~0~~0~~

YROO GSRMPH WRKKVI RH HKVXRZO, WRKKVI RH QFHG Z XSROW

~~0~~0~~0~~

So this was... going to be a longer chapter. Actually, my original plan was for this chapter to be a long chapter around ~10,000 words long, give or take. But, after reading over some stuff, I thought the pacing would be a lot smoother if I split this chapter into two! So that's why this fic now has 45 chapters instead of 44. Which is kinda nice since 45 is a better number than 44 anyways; it ends in a 5.

Good news, though: since I split the original chapter into two, the next chapter has already been written. Like, a good chunk of it has already been written (a little over 1000 words). Hopefully, the next update will come sooner? Who knows.

I can't believe this fic is almost 30 chapters long. That's insane to me.

I am a little too tired to answer everyone's comments, but thank you all so much for the support and love!

Anyways! Thank you all so much for reading! And don't forget to comment if you haven't already, I really appreciate them!